Shane Connelly's objective coming into Saturday night was spelled out in his own writing, tucked away in his black notebook on the shelf of his locker.

In a lined page filled with words, the ones in the largest print -- "Take Control. Make Them Believe" -- obviously were the most important in the University of Wisconsin men 's hockey team's junior goaltender's mind.

He did just that from the outset of the Badgers' 6-2 win over Denver in an NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal in front of 9,968 at the Kohl Center.

And were it not for Connelly's first-period performance, UW's third-period scoring outburst -- four goals came in a span of 7 minutes, 55 seconds -- might not have been possible.

"I wanted to restore confidence," said Connelly, who made 12 of his 30 saves in the first period. "I'm pretty sure they believe in me and stuff like that, but it's always good to know that you've got their back. Last time was a tough game."

Indeed, the last time Connelly was in goal, he was pulled after giving up two first-period goals in a 4-3 loss at St. Cloud State in the first round of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs -- a result that left the Badgers' tournament hopes hanging by a thread.

"I took it extremely personal, and I wanted to change that," he said. "I didn't know if I was going to have the opportunity."

Connelly made the most of that opportunity right from the start.

Two of his first-period stops came during a Pioneers power play in which the puck never left UW's zone -- leaving senior defensemen Davis Drewiske and Kyle Klubertanz, junior center Ben Street and sophomore center Aaron Bendickson on the ice for the entire penalty kill.

"It helped me get into the game a little early," Connelly said. "A bunch of flurries, just helped me get into it. We were all tired out there, but this time of year you've got to get the job done."

Denver then had an odd-man rush midway through the second, but Connelly slid across to disrupt Pioneers freshman center Tyler Bozak's centering pass before it could reach sophomore right wing Rhett Rakhshani.

About 9 minutes later, he turned away Denver freshman left wing Anthony Maiani's point-blank effort to preserve the Badgers' 2-0 advantage.

Of course, Connelly had some help -- the Pioneers hit the post four times.

You might be able to turn to Connelly's notebook for that explanation, too. He had a small green leprechaun figurine sitting on top of it.

His defense played a large part, too, clearing rebounds and tying up Denver's forwards.

"He made the saves he needed to make," sophomore defenseman Jamie McBain said, "and us as (defensemen), we were trying to help him out and clear guys out in front and hopefully make him only have to make that first save not make his job too hard."

Another phrase Connelly had penned down read, "best version of me." That's his goal again for today's game with North Dakota, with the winner headed to the Frozen Four.

"It feels good now," he said, "but hopefully (today) it will feel even better."